wireless routers require AirPort cards, right?

Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
Hey all,

im looking at networking two computers so that they can share files and a single broadband connection.

With wireless routers (such as This one, do they require an AirPort card to be installed in both computers?





That's all for now.

Thanks
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 30
    Quote:

    Originally posted by spiers69

    Hey all,

    im looking at networking two computers so that they can share files and a single broadband connection.

    With wireless routers (such as This one, do they require an AirPort card to be installed in both computers?





    That's all for now.

    Thanks




    any machine that you want to be wireless, will require an airport card be inside it.
  • Reply 2 of 30
    Any computer connected to the modem will also connect to the router. That computer will get internet from the modem NO airport needed. Any other computers to be networked to that router will need a Airport. If you have ever worked with pci cards on windows, its a joke compared to how simple it is to connect Airport to the network.
  • Reply 3 of 30
    regreg Posts: 832member
    If your machines have usb ports you can get one of these.

    http://www.usr.com/products/networki...sp?sku=USR5420

    or http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatSecti...tion_Id=201522

    They are not as nice as the internal airport card but they will work. Search google for usb wifi adaptors for more choices.



    reg
  • Reply 4 of 30
    jimbo123jimbo123 Posts: 153member
    Hi



    Get yourself Airport Express plug in an Ethernet modem and

    make sure you have Airport cards installed on your computers

    and just like magic it works!



    Does for me...
  • Reply 5 of 30
    spiers69spiers69 Posts: 418member
    Hmmm... if there is a way i can network them wirelessly without Airport cards, etc it would be better for me.



    This is what i found on osx.com regarding USB wifi adapters,



    "I'd highly recommend staying away from the USB adapter. I have one on my TiVO, it works great. But... I'd go with a Ethernet to Wireless device. This is seperate from your Mac, so you don't have to worry about drivers and what not.



    I am not recommending this particular model (it might be fine) http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=241 but that will give you an idea of what I am talking about."



    Now, does this mean that there are similar such wifi adapters that instead plug into your ethernet port? Also, an 'ethernet' port is the large port where the Cat5 wire is inserted, correct?





    So assuming i could get my hands a pair of ethernet wifi adapters, this is how it would be set up:



    Modem=> Wireless ethernet router

    Wireless ethernet router => 2x Ethernet wifi adapters



    This would mean that both computers could access the internet (even if one wasn't turned on) and that they could share files, correct?
  • Reply 6 of 30
    spiers69spiers69 Posts: 418member
    Also,

    if i were to buy a 2nd hand Airport Extreme Base station, would it be compatible with a wireless wifi ethernet adapter? Or would i need to install AirPort cards in both Macs?



    Also, i seem to have noticed that many of the wireless ethernet adapters only seem to have maximum transfer rate of 54mbps. This doesnt sound that much to me, but would it be alright in reality?
  • Reply 7 of 30
    spiers69spiers69 Posts: 418member
    ive just realised that the Airport Base Stations only have a 50 ft range @ 54mbps.

    Is that 50ft as the crow flies, or for example, in a house with fibro walls it would have to travel around the walls/corners?



    Thanks
  • Reply 8 of 30
    wingnutwingnut Posts: 197member
    The distance is direct lines. Think of it as a sphere 100' across (50' in all directions from the base). I connect to my wireless router, and it's definitely 50' to walk to it, but it's more like 25' through the wall.



    I have an Airport express base station, and I can't get it to work that well. I use a D-link wireless router to handle the cable internet connection, and it works great. I say go grab a wireless G router an be done with it. You can control them with a mac as easy as you can with any windows machine.
  • Reply 9 of 30
    spiers69spiers69 Posts: 418member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Wingnut



    I have an Airport express base station, and I can't get it to work that well. I use a D-link wireless router to handle the cable internet connection, and it works great. I say go grab a wireless G router an be done with it. You can control them with a mac as easy as you can with any windows machine.




    What else does such a D-link wireless router require? How do i connect it to two Macs in seperate rooms? And are all D-link routers Mac-compatible?



    Also, are there any wireless routers that i could plug an external HD into using FireWire or USB 2, so that both Macs could access it independtly?
  • Reply 10 of 30
    spiers69spiers69 Posts: 418member
    ive been looking at the D-Link wireless routers and i have a few questions.



    Firstly, can i plug this computer into the router through a Cat5 cable? as i would have the router set up so close to thiscomputer that going wireless would be stupid.



    And for the other computer, i would need a 'D-link DWL-G810 Wireless to Ethernet Bridge' for it right?



    This would be all i'd need right?
  • Reply 11 of 30
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    You'd need only the wireless router and your modem.



    It has three or four CAT5 ports on the back.
  • Reply 12 of 30
    spiers69spiers69 Posts: 418member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Placebo

    You'd need only the wireless router and your modem.



    It has three or four CAT5 ports on the back.




    But the two computers are over 15m apart. Neither has an Airport card.



    my plan: set the wireless router up near computer 1, and plug computer 1 into it using a cat5 cable and have an ethernet wifi converter attached to computer 2.



    This way, there wouldn't be cables between the two computers, but they'd both be able to access the net and share files, right?



    Does this make sense?



    One computer (no. 1) would be near an ethernet jack, while the other would be in a room about 15m away that doesnt have any ethernet jacks.
  • Reply 13 of 30
    gene cleangene clean Posts: 3,481member
    It does make sense, but why not buy one Airport card and connect the other with an Ethernet cable?
  • Reply 14 of 30
    spiers69spiers69 Posts: 418member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Gene Clean

    It does make sense, but why not buy one Airport card and connect the other with an Ethernet cable?



    So buy an Airport card for the computer that was 15m away (computer No. 2), and buy a wireless router?

    Then plug computer no. 1 directly into the router and have computer no. 2 communicate wirelessly?

    Is that what you're suggesting?



    That's what i was trying to say i wanted to do, but with an etherenet wifi adapter instead of buying an airport card.



    How hard are airport cards to install in an emac?

    Thanks
  • Reply 15 of 30
    gene cleangene clean Posts: 3,481member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by spiers69





    How hard are airport cards to install in an emac?

    Thanks




    Not hard at all. You can also find documents at apple.com describing, step by step (with pictures) how to do it.



    That seems the better solution when compared to fiddling with USB adapters.
  • Reply 16 of 30
    spiers69spiers69 Posts: 418member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Gene Clean

    Not hard at all. You can also find documents at apple.com describing, step by step (with pictures) how to do it.



    That seems the better solution when compared to fiddling with USB adapters.




    what about ethernet adapters, they're meant to be pretty simple.



    Are airport cards only compatible with airport base stations, or they generally compatible with all wireless routers?
  • Reply 17 of 30
    Airport cards are more or less compatible with WiFi standards b and g so buying router that suppports 802.11g it just works, Dlink's user interface is html based so it doesn't matter what operating system you are running. Dlink DI-624+ plays nicely with my ibook. Lastly talking about CAT5 type of cable is bit stupid, because it actually doesn't describe the connection type at all, it's just the grade how good guality the cables are.
  • Reply 18 of 30
    wingnutwingnut Posts: 197member
    Yes, Macs should be fully compatible with all routers. Routers are basically really simple computers. They have an operating system of sorts, with the ability to be customized via the internal firmware. The routers only purpose is to control the network access of all the computers that are connected to it. To configure the router you access them remotely through a connected PC via any web browser. This is important, because once you have your network setup, you want to go into the router's software and setup the security, so that your PCs and internet connection are protected. Details on how to do this are included in the router manual--it's all rather painless.
  • Reply 19 of 30
    spiers69spiers69 Posts: 418member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Project2501

    Lastly talking about CAT5 type of cable is bit stupid, because it actually doesn't describe the connection type at all, it's just the grade how good guality the cables are.



    Sorry. im no expert at any of this. And im not pretending to be one.
  • Reply 20 of 30
    spiers69spiers69 Posts: 418member
    Ok. i've been thinking about my situation and i've got another plan.



    What if i were to use a simply wired router (instead of going wirelss) and run the ethernet cable around the corners of the room and up above the door frame (you'd probably need to be here to really understand that).



    Anyway, i've just used a piece of string and worked out that i would need apporximately 12metres (or approx. 39 ft) of ethernet cable to link the two computers to my currently imagaginary router (which would sit right next to one of the computers anyway).



    Basically, are there any disadvantages to using a really long ethernet cable? And can anyone reccomend a particular router? And is there a router out there that has a USB 2 jack as well as ethernet ports, so that i can share my external HD between both computers?



    Thanks
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